Alike

Part of speech: adjective, adverb

Pronunciation: /əˈlaɪk/

Definitions

1. Similar or the same in appearance, nature, or character
2. Having a resemblance in characteristics, traits, or nature to the extent that they can be considered the same or very similar
3. Resembling each other in looks or qualities ; done or experienced in the same manner by two or more entities

Etymology: "Alike" is a word with four ancestors. Its Old English forms, "onlīċ" and "ġelīċ," both meant "like" or "similar," and the Old English "ġelīċ" also carried the sense "equal." Over the Middle English period these forms merged, so the modern word combines an inherited Old English prefixed form (from "a-," meaning "on" or "in," plus "like") with a stream of forms that came from Old Norse "álíkr," the cognate of the same word in the Scandinavian languages. The resulting mix of spellings, from "anlich" to "ylich" to "alich," eventually settled on the one we use. The same blending happened with the adverb "alike," which fused native Old English "onlīċe" and "ġelīċe" with the Old Norse "álíka." English therefore ended up with two parts of speech sharing a single history of Norse and English strands running together.

Synonyms: similar, identical, comparable, analogous, resembling

Antonyms: different, dissimilar, unlike, contrasting, diverse